Friday, August 17, 2018 12:00 AM

On April 17, 2018, USAC submitted a demand estimate for the E-Rate program for funding year 2018. It estimates the total demand for funding year 2018 will be $2.77 billion, which includes estimated
demand for category one services of $2.025 billion and of $745 million for category two services.The Bureau announced that the E-Rate program funding cap for funding year 2018 is $4.06
billion.4 Additionally, according to USAC projections, $1.2 billion in unused funds is available for use in E-Rate funding year 2018. The Chief of the Bureau is delegated authority to determine the proportion of unused funds needed to meet category one demand and to direct USAC to use any remaining funds to provide category two support. In light of the current funding cap of $4.06 billion and available carry forward funding of $1.2 billion, there is sufficient funding to fully fund all category one and category two funding requests.

We therefore direct USAC to fully fund eligible category one and category two requests, using $1.2 billion in E-Rate funds unused from previous years, and any additional funds needed under the current cap to fully meet demand for such services.